The Government’s economic policies of attracting new investment as well as enabling re-investment among existing companies are the reasons Zambia’s economy is set to continue expanding, an economist has said.
Chibamba Kanyama said as a result of these policies, more investors would want to come into the country, while those in existence would re-invest to expand their organisations.
Speaking in an interview in Lusaka, Mr Kanyama said the current regime was attracting high levels of investment because the Government has taken a pro-active stance of marketing the country away from the traditional Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) origination from countries in Europe to emerging nations that were experiencing astronomical growth patterns, mainly India and China.
“There has been a fine balance between attracting new investment and enabling re-investment among existing companies.
Unlike in previous years when concessions and focus by Government were towards those investing for the first time, the current Government has given equal or even deeper attention to existing investors.
This has worked very well for Government because it costs more money to attract a new investor than it does enabling an existing investor to re-invest and expand.
Whereas new investors may seek tax relief for a period up to five years, existing companies that bring in new capital will not have this tax relief,” Mr Kanyama said.
Mr Kanyama, who is also Zambia Breweries Corporate Affairs director, said that his firm had injected more than US $75 million in the past three years, saying it was much higher than what some new investors might have brought into the country.
He said that the $75 million investment would immediately result in high Government revenue in the medium to long term.“It also means, therefore, that the bird in hand is better than the one in the bush.
What this Government has done is to give a stronglistening ear to the needs of local investors and in the process enabling them to grow in the long term; this is the best strategy ofsustaining economic growth,” Mr Kanyama said.
Mr Kanyama said that there has been times that Government has taken a gamble by providing for trade-related tax relief to existing companies in the hope of recouping it in the long term. Such a measure, he said takes a highly focused and pragmatic Government to achieve.
In the case of Zambian Breweries, he said the firm had urged the Government to look broadly at the fiscal factors.
He said that traditionally, governments only want to get as much revenue from a company as possible without focusing on the bigger picture.
“Fortunately, and in a win-win approach, the Government now appears to have struck a fine balance between maximisation of revenue, while at the same time understanding our model to broaden the tax base through the value chain.
In other words, whereas we seek to pay more taxes each year, we feel the real gain for Government is to enable a company like ZB, and others following the same model, to expand,” Mr Kanyama said.He said in the brewery industry for instance, owing to Government’s policies, a number of associated companies are beingborn, such as barley farms.
He said from the creation of such associated companies, Government would still be able to earn revenue.“This should also allay accusations that multinationals want to pay as little tax as possible.
On the contrary, multinationals seek long term economic stability and growth through value-chain expansion,” Mr Kanyama said.
Mr Kanyama, therefore, urged the Government to remain focused on the path it has taken as the country’s future remains brighter for economic growth, wealth for households through employment and further attraction of new investment.
[Times of Zambia]
Zambia Breweries has laid off a lot of people so where is the $75 million going Mr Journalist cum Economist?
This is Greek to Sata(n)
#2 were does Sata come in? Why are people scared to death and cannot rest to pull Sata down. We cannot all be economists. It looks like a lot of people will lose their income after elections and I believe #2 is one of them
Chibamba Kanyama do you know why, Celtel, Zamcel, Zain, Airtel keeps getting sold every 5 years? Because when their tax exemption is about to expire they come back has a new company until the next five years. what is the government doing to promote local investors? ZB will always prosper because poor people resort to vices such as beer drinking. They cannot afford proper recreation.
The man is speaking because government agreed to reduce the taxes they were demanding from Zambian Breweries. After privatisation the first action of Zamtel was pruning employees.The fact that these multinationals are externaslising loads of profits from Zambia, e.g. ZB, Shoprite, copper mines and currently Zamtel, is enough to pain the poor Zambians. This government of RB is pro-rich and has no concern on collecting enough taxes and directing them towards sectors that impact the poor effectively such as farming support services in rural areas, SMS enterpreneurs in manufacturing cannot easily access funds due to requirements of security and exhorbitant interest rates, training in crafts such as raring chickens and growing mushroom could easily be provided through the respective ministry.
CK’s analysis is ok. I guess he should now tell the majority of zambian, when they expect to benefit from all this rhetoric he is propounding. Real jobs must be created period.
Sata comes in because he does not understand the simple fact that the economy is growing and yet he is aspiring for high office.He is always preaching about more money in the pocket without, how is he going to provide more money in peoples pockets,is it by printing more notes and distributing. KKK@3, i am sure you are learned enough to know that Sata can not read any economic indicators.
Chibamba is professionally a journalist (not economist!) with interest in finance and economics. Some other jounalists’ interests are in crime or sport. Does that make them prosecutors/judges or sportsmen/women?
i lost all confidence in the relevance of CK’s words when on business review on ZNBC,when the copper price was barely profitable,he advised putting all the mines on care and maintenance! Putting thousands on the street!
CK too much rhetoric he thinks he is still at ZNBC.
Chibamba Kanyama for a start is not an economist. He has never studied economics, and therefore, should stop misleading people. Chibamba chimo chine na Oliver Saasa, who was a lecturer in development studies pa UNZA, but now masquarades as professor of international economic relations and consultant. Pa Zed for sure!!!!
STOP THIS NONSENSE, THIS MAN IS NOT AN ECONOMIST, HE TOOK AN MA IN FINANCE, HE IS NOT EVEN A JOURNALIST BECAUSE HE DID NOT STUDFY JOURNALISM. HE STUDIED MASS COMMUNICATIONS AT UNZA AND WORKED AS A REPORTER AT ZNBC. THIS MAN IS A PR OFFICER OR CORPORATE AFFAIRS BOSS FORMERLY AT ZSIC AND NOW AT BREWERIES. WHY DO WE GET A NON EXPERT TO EXPALIN ISSUES HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND. JOURNALISTS ARE GIVING HIM COVERGAE BECAUSE HE IS EASY TO REACH. HE IS MASQUERADING. GUYS I AM A JOURNALIST AND I DID SOME ECONOMICS JUST TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND, TELL ME, I WORK AT DAILY MAIL AS A REPORTER, AM I AN ECONOMIST?
It all depends on how one defines ‘development’!
People on this forum should stop misleading others. Get your facts right before you start hitting the keys on your keyboard. Chibamba took time off and went to England to do a masters in Economics. After his graduation he continued working for Z.N.B.C before leaving and joining the private sector. I am beginning to think that most people here just use the forum to vent out their frustrations and disappointments. Be factual in your contributions and if you do not have anything to say keep quiet. I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE MODERATORS TO CHECK AND ENSURE THAT THE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE CONSTRUCTIVE AND FACTUAL.
Good presentation mr economist chibamba kanyama.What will all this good presentation about the economy picking take the poor people in the villages and the communities to?People are hungry,no money to buy food,no money to buy school uniforms,to pay school fees,to pay for medication etc,etc and yet you say the economy has picked.Will your economics put money in people’s pockets to care for their daily needs,wake up C.K ,people are poor out there.This economy picking thing is all ‘FAKE’.
it seems SENSE sounds like GREEK to most Zambians…..
CK should have used BEMBA maybe a number of bloggers on this site would have understood.
You do not need to study economics be an economist. We have engineers who are Chief Financial Officers of companies here in Australia without any qualification in finance.
The former Finance Minister of South Africa Trevor Emmanuel who is a candidate for the top IMF job never studied Finance nor Economics… in fact he has a diploma in civil engineering.
16, dont compare political jobs to professions. You could be a nothing like jazman and hold a ministerial job. Wake up pal? are you foolishly telling me that i can be a laywer or doctor without studying medicine, did you know that Dr Katele Kalumba is a public health doctor and not a medical one and as such he cant practice medicine? Chibamba Kanyama does dont have a BA Econ or BEcon, we all to ma masters like caristor the french teacher who did an MA in broadcasting, some professions like media it could work, not professions which count on data to function! sha! KANYAMA IS NOT AND I REPAET, HE IS NOT AN ECONOMIST and you take his advise at your own peril, i would rather take mine from Fundanaga!
Engineer (Australia)
To be Chief of IMF,economics is an added advantage,not a condition/pre-equisite,Trevor Emmanuel was elected as a global leader by the World Economic Forum because of his work as a minister of finance,he initiated South Africa’s entry into the Global economy.For anyone to be called an economist,he must have studied economics,you call yourself an engineer probably because you studied engineering.Which company here in Australia has a Chief finance officer who is not qualified in finance…give us an example and we shall research and find out,dont try to come out smart and pretend to be Mr know It All
Don’t just argue, go to the University of Reading website and read the MSC Development Finance programme profile/structure. Its only this way that you will objectively know whether CK is an Economist or not. Then also take an interest in researching whether CK has worked as an Economist, Development Practitioner or anything like that. That way we will rightly place him as an authentic economist or not. Rememeber, one might study and earn qualifications in something but they may never have practiced what they studied. This can also be used to answer our contraversial question about CK. The rest is yours guys.
None of his lecturers he sighted in the newspapers and classmates have ever come out to disown chibamba and his CV on the website says it all. he was lecturerd by Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, Alast Mwanza (mhsrip), Prof. Manenga Ndulo, Dr Mwikisa, Prof. Seshamani and was in same class with Ballad Zulu, Chriticles Mwansa and was a close colleague to Dr Buleti Nsemukila. Chibamba was only student who graduated with double major (Mass Comm and Economics). At Reading, as Chevening Scholar, he studied Development Finance of which Economics was part. Read the CV or go to University of Reading website. jeolousy people!
Name: Senior Citizen | Country of residence: ZM | Written: Thursday, 15 October 2009 (10:44)
I have used many variables to reach this conclusion. Should Mugara lose, as a democrat I will salute him and his party with dignity, but then will retire from blog politics and my business. Instead, will enter active politics which has never been on my calendar beyond blogging during free times. But I vow MMD victory in Kasama is undebatable.Name: Senior Citizen | Country of residence: Zambia | Written: Friday, 16 October 2009 (15:39)
21001Someone has asked “Hello Mr Senior Citizen-are you going to retire from blogging” Quote
ANSWERI’m a man of my words
Economists Journalists and even soccer professionals are not in licensed professions such as lawyers and doctors so the debate over who is a journalist or economist will never end. However in Zambia this is fuelled by PHD. The answer to bloggers is Chibamba is an economist and journalist. He has recognised qualifications in both.
listen people lets be objective on our views.i think we shud be concentating more on what the person is sayong and not his qualification.so what is CK is an economist or nt?is wat he is saying benefiting our economy as zambians.is it true tht reinvest is actually happening with these zambian compains with foreign investors?tht is what matters and not CK.